Rock Rapids, Iowa — An area hospital has received a grant to update its CT scan equipment.
Administrators at Sanford Rock Rapids Medical Center say their patients will soon benefit from access to the latest computed tomography (CT) diagnostic technology. They say it’s made possible through a grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust’s Rural Healthcare Program.
According to Sanford officials, the Trust has awarded Sanford Rock Rapids Medical Center $273,152 for a new 32-slice CT scanner. CT scanners provide essential diagnostic images of structures inside the body. A new CT scanner will allow for faster scans that produce high-quality images, allowing medical staff to quickly determine health status and course of treatment while giving patients access to up-to-date healthcare technology close to home.
The CEO at Sanford Rock Rapids, Tammy Loosbrock, says that the upgrade from the current 4-slice CT to a 32-slice CT will be a wonderful enhancement to the care provided at Sanford Rock Rapids. She says they really appreciate the funds allowing Sanford Rock Rapids to provide excellent diagnostic care at their local facility.
Sanford Rock Rapids Medical Center is one of 37 grant recipients across the region to benefit from funding to purchase CT scanners. The Rural Healthcare Program of the Helmsley Charitable Trust says they are granting nearly $14 million over the next six months to support the purchase of new, 32-slice or higher CT scanners at Critical Access Hospitals in a seven-state region.
Walter Panzirer, trustee of the Helmsley Charitable Trust says that their goal is to ensure that people who live in rural America have access to quality healthcare as close to home as possible. He says that to achieve this, rural hospitals need to be viable and they need to have up-to-date equipment, so patients can receive essential healthcare services locally.
In addition, a new Medicare policy will go into effect January 1, 2016 that may reduce reimbursement for certain studies on CT scanners that do not meet specific radiation dose requirements.
